Iranian racing champ storms male bastions

As a child she loved doing stuff that boys would do. Playing physically demanding games, stealing her dad’s car and going around the crowded streets of Tehran were few of the pranks that made a young Laleh Seddigh different from other girls in Iran.

“From my teenage years, I was very much interested in doing stuff that boys did. And driving was one such hobby. I found driving very challenging and interesting. I used to drive fast in the streets, and I loved it,” said Seddigh, the first-ever and certainly the most successful and flamboyant woman racing driver from Iran who was in the city on Monday for a promotional event.

“And once I got a hang of the car and was going really fast, I thought why not switch from the streets to the race track. And I can tell you if one can master the skill of driving on the streets of Tehran, then he’s the best. It’s so crowded,” she added throwing more light on her entry into motorsports.

Starting off as a rally racer in 2000, Seddigh took the motorsport community by storm when she was named the women’s champion of the year in 2003, and then again when she followed it up with her exceptional performances for Proton Rally team in 2004, winning three races and securing seven podium finishes.

“Rallying is something that I always loved to do. I started off as a rally driver and went on to do well too. But as the Islamic rules don’t allow a man to partner a woman -- if he’s not her father, brother or husband -- I had to rely on a woman navigator. And in Iran we don’t have many good navigators. So, that’s one big reason why I switched to racing. Here I am on my own and that’s something I prefer,” said the 38-year-old.

Enjoying a fruitful time on the circuit, Seddigh also had her share of troubles to deal with. “To be frank, not many were happy to see me on the podium. They never saw a woman win a male dominated event before.

“Sometimes they cut the brake system, put sugar in the petrol tank, pair up and block me so that another driver could pass and so on,” she explained.

Iran now though has come a long way in relaxing its restrictions on women and Seddigh said that it was welcome change for the sport. “It’s a very big change because now I can see my students, they don’t have any problem with wearing a race suit or communicating with male drivers or even practice with them. During my time, I couldn’t have my coach sitting next to me in the same car. Now everything has changed,” she elaborated.

Having made a name for herself, Seddigh said that she was now looking to help other women achieve their goals in motorsports.

“I want to see many more women come out and participate in such motor racing events. Now we have a handful of them, and I want to help in increasing this number. I know it’s not easy, but it isn’t impossible either. I want to be there for girls who dream of achieveing big in this profession,” concluded the Iranian who runs a motorsports academy which has produced over 40 lady racers.